What sight of the trees makes
me dream? The bare bones of winter:
their coppice leaves are dead and buried;
shoelaces thick with the grime and the
spittle of mulchen earth. Molten. Catching
strands of my hair in a belittling tug.
Twin white gloves stuck to the tips of
branches, where do you hail? I can but
whisper through now berry-reddened teeth.
You’ve made me more than oxblood,
more than the water – the sweat and the
sweetness. Trees of beauty, my comrades;
what hearts are stolen into pine-cones,
into bracken? The ferns are your fingers now
and they waft at my ankles, the cuffs of my jeans;
the blue, blue, blue of my exposed feet.
© Eve Redwater 2012
Redwater Ramblings 
This is so beautifully coloured. I was carried from the first line to the last as though I were floating on a cloud. Exquisite write!
Thank you very much Louise! 🙂
I am, once again, consumed with envy at your skill with words. More! 🙂
Thanks so much! I’m really happy that you enjoy reading my poetry. It spurs me on to write more. 🙂
Beautiful ode
Thank you Sheila. 🙂
I love tree poems, and this is beautiful!
Many thanks Betty! I’m glad that you like it. 🙂
The sweat and sweetness of trees …
Thank you for commenting and visiting!
Solid Stacey, solid. 🙂
Thank you Joseph, I’m always grateful for your comments!
this is lovely…enchanting pace and rhythm to it…i love the trees personally and go there to be found again….really like that closing line as well…the repitition is spot on….
Thank you very much Brian! I appreciate you stopping by and reading! 😀
This is lovely.
Thank you David. 🙂
Wonderful.
Thank you! And thank you for the visit! 🙂
As of yet, I am not qualified to comment on your beautiful work…I have much trouble understanding real poetry, and yours is.
But I will share with you what I thought the poems speaks of, though I could be wrong.
I see you in the woods, barefoot in the cool months, when the trees have gone bare of their leaves, and the branches are getting caught in your hair. Everything after that, I lost, even though I read it 3 times…But, I feel a strong emotions int the words you wrote,
I’m sorry if I didn’t get it, but I know it has to be beautiful, for all your write is beautiful and professional.
Hugs, xx
Hi Debra! Thank you for reading.
You’re right you know, the bare feet, the hair, you really are getting everything, so don’t worry so much! Like I’ve said before, I really appreciate your thoughts, no matter how much or little you think you understand a certain piece. The important question for me is: “am I putting out a strong enough message so that you can ‘see’ what I’m trying to describe?” Honestly, it makes me so happy that you got those points out of this poem, it means I must be doing something right. 🙂 x
As you know, I don’t understand real poetry, which is what you write, but I get a feeling from it, as I pick up a word here and there.
I vision you in the woods, barefoot, in the cooler months, with the tree branches getting tangled in your hair. But then I loose the ability to see more after that, but get a feeling of appreciated life…
Hugs, xx
That last comment is a duplicate because wordpress said they were having maintenance when I tried to post the first one.
No worries Deb!
I feel like I am closer to a tree than I realised. My arms are suddenly branches and I could cut myself open and count the rings to know the truth of my age. I like seeing things differently. Thank you for the opportunity to be a tree.
Thank you for reading.
And thank you for becoming a tree! 😀
We rely on the grand evergreens to cleanse our air in winter, while we enjoy the beauty of the deciduous ones. Lovely poem to winter trees, Eve…
Thank you very much Lindy! Trees really are wonderful things, I’ll always have an affinity for them. 🙂
I read this as more of a political metaphor, but maybe that’s completely different from what you meant. Either way, it’s a great work!
Hello Taylor! Thank you for reading and commenting! Not a political metaphor, but interesting how it made you think of that – it’s certainly a different spin on it!
Stop by any time!
Eve
the blue, blue, blue! Brilliant.
Many thanks Russell!
Hi Eve. I like ‘the ferns are your fingers now” and the image of the white gloves on the branches. Jane
Hi Jane, thank you for stopping by! I’m really glad that you like it. 🙂
Right in the middle of the wood with you… you do lovely things with words
Thank you! Honoured you think so!
Verging on sensory overload–but not quite! Instead, just right: redolent leaf-mould season taken in through every pore.
What a beautiful way to describe it! Thank you Kathryn. 🙂
I connect with this. Sometimes we create work unknowingly, but reading this over and over, makes me think why I make images of trees in wintery light. FYI.